In the Finest Hour Podcast

Ep10: Hordes vs. Elites

There's a lot of talk about 8th Edition being a "horde meta," but what does that actually mean for you as a player? In this episode, we explore the relative strengths of both horde armies and elite armies, and how they each function on the tabletop. From movement to board control to objective-holding, both armies can perform a lot of impressive tricks- but if you're going up against them, you're going to need to fight those strategies very differently.

As usual, we also have a nod to our tempo episode as we consider how to fight each of them as well as more discussion of weapon types and how each of the two armies achieves saturation with its respective profile- all of these separate topics are fundamentally related, as it turns out. Plus, an opportunity to hear about each of the hosts' Closet of Shame.

Episode Music: Dankmus

Icon Artist: Rylan Woodrow

Sponsored by: Vreda Forge

Our Patreon: In the Finest Hour
Website: https://www.inthefinesthour.com/

Directed by: Sean Morgan

Edited by: Shaylynn Allen

Ep09: First or Second?

In every game, at some point, we have to make that fatal decision: do you want the first turn, or the second? Which will benefit your army more? Which is better when it comes to playing the mission? Can you survive letting the other guy get the first hit in, or do you need that edge in firepower and maneuver to make your plan work? This week on the podcast we explore the myriad factors that go into making that decision, including the terrain on your table, the missions (and secondaries) you are playing, your opponent's army, your personal playstyle, and more. We also look at when you should mix up your decisions and how to look at it from the perspective of your opponent and what they want/need out of the matchup.

Episode Music: Dankmus

Icon Artist: Rylan Woodrow

Sponsored by: Vreda Forge

Our Patreon: In the Finest Hour
Website: https://www.inthefinesthour.com/

Directed by: Sean Morgan

Edited by: Shaylynn Allen

Ep08: Tempo

Tempo, tempo, who's got the tempo? This week on In the Finest Hour we explore a concept that isn't talked about a lot but is pretty fundamental to the game, namely tempo. If you don't play many other games you may not even know what tempo is, exactly, but you've most certainly felt its effects during a match- whether it's because you always seem to be getting the wrong charges off or because you always seem to get onto those objectives a turn too late. Tempo, in short, is the ability to control the pace and flow of a game of 40K and the back-and-forth action that typically defines the main conflict of most games.

 

From defining tempo within the context of the game, we go on to explaining how it's typically used and how lists can take advantage of it- as well as how to reverse it and when it's okay to sacrifice it in favor of other things. It's a deep dive into a subject that a lot of people may not be familiar with, so pull on your wetsuit and let's get ready get educational.

 

Episode Music: Dankmus

Icon Artist: Rylan Woodrow

Sponsored by: Vreda Forge

Our Patreon: In the Finest Hour
Website: https://www.inthefinesthour.com/

Directed by: Sean Morgan

Edited by: Shaylynn Allen

Ep07: Saturation- Threats vs. Targets

This week we've got an important topic to lists of every kind- namely, the difference between giving your opponent a target for their guns and overloading them with things they have to shoot at. Most players recognize, on some level, that having just one of a unit (like vehicles) is often not a great plan, but it's not just because of issues with redundancy in a list- it's also about the kinds of units you give your opponent to shoot at. We talk at length at the various kinds of targets you tend to see on the tabletop as well as the different kinds of weapons that you tend to see for handling them.

 

However, as every coin has two sides, we also look at when you can have too much of something in a list, and why you would want to avoid that- more isn't always better, as it turns out. Our hosts discuss the costs of saturation, and the limits of what you'll want to put in a list as ways to play against lists that try to achieve hyper-saturation with one or more types of units.

 

This week also is the introduction of our new List of the Week feature, where one of our three hosts gives a brief shout-out to an army list that they recently found that was interesting, unique, or exceptionally well-crafted. Spoilers: this time around, it involves a lot of daemons.

 

Episode Music: Dankmus

Icon Artist: Rylan Woodrow

Sponsored by: Vreda Forge

Our Patreon: inthefinesthour
Website: https://www.inthefinesthour.com/

Directed by: Sean Morgan

Edited by: Shaylynn Allen

Ep06: Making Space

In this week's episode, we talk about the concept of controlling space on the board, breaking it up into several different forms and discussing how each of them can be used during the game as well as why they're important. Whether you're trying to stop reserves from arriving in your backfield, keep the enemy away from your gunline, or hold the center of the board to score objectives, controlling space on the table is fundamental to the game and it's a strategy that top tournament players use constantly.

As a reminder, this week is your final chance to donate to the CharityHammer marathon stream (CharityHammer.com) to help decide what list(s) Nick Nanavati plays this coming weekend. If you're looking for some great games from top 40K players streaming for two straight days, morning, noon, and night, I highly recommend you check it out. Viewing the stream is free, though we do ask that if you can afford to pitch in even just a few bucks please do so- all proceeds will go directly to Child's Play charities to help out children in hospitals.

As always, you can contact us at inthefinalhour@gmail.com, or send us a message through our Facebook group- we're happy to answer questions, get comments or criticism, take suggestions for future topics you'd like to see, or just talk about Warhammer for a bit. If you've enjoyed the show, please share it with your friends, like our page, or give us a review on your podcast service of choice.

Episode Music: Dankmus (https://soundcloud.com/dankmus/the-box-factory)

Icon Artist: Rylan Woodrow (https://www.facebook.com/ArtofRylanWoodrow/)

Sponsored by: Vreda Forge (https://www.facebook.com/vredaforge/)

                      Charity Hammer (https://www.charityhammer.com/)
Our Patreon: inthefinesthour (https://www.patreon.com/inthefinesthour/creators)
Website: (https://www.inthefinesthour.com/)

Directed by: Sean Morgan

Edited by: Shaylynn Allen

Ep05: Analyzing Missions Series the First, ITC Champions 2018

Snowflake Jake has brought us all a wondrous gift on this Snowflake Day, an extra-special start to our new episode series on analyzing and understanding the many different mission formats out there. We're starting with what is the most common format for west coast USA players, the ITC Champions set; we talk about the six primary missions and how they should affect your list-building as well as discussing all eleven secondary missions in detail and which ones you should pick (or avoid) in different situations and lists. Jam-packed full of helpful holiday tips, this is our largest episode yet, so sit yourself 'round the old yule log and have a listen!

This episode also marks the beginning of our Patreon service as well as the attached Discord servers and Facebook group- for a small monthly donation, you can join our growing group of fans and chat personally with them as well as the hosts of the podcast about lists, meta, and more.

Good Host Shaylynn, a woman of her word, has kindly provided the ITC missions vs. deployment maps visual for all to enjoy and learn from: https://www.inthefinesthour.com/blog/itc-championship-missions-vs-deployment-maps. Incidentally, this also links you to our snappy-looking website where you can find a few more gems of Warhammer knowledge. 

Episode Music: Dankmus (https://soundcloud.com/dankmus/the-box-factory)

Icon Artist: Rylan Woodrow (https://www.facebook.com/ArtofRylanWoodrow/)

Sponsored by: Vreda Forge (https://www.facebook.com/vredaforge/)

                      Charity Hammer (https://www.charityhammer.com/)
Our Patreon: inthefinesthour (https://www.patreon.com/inthefinesthour/creators)
Website: (https://www.inthefinesthour.com/)

Directed by: Sean Morgan

Recorded by: Shaylynn Allen

Edited by: The Lady of Titan

Ep04: Writing a Competitive List

Struggling with how to put together a tournament list? Our three hosts talk through the processes they use to formulate a list and the tools they consider critical to succeeding with an army. From single-minded armies that do one thing brutally well to multifaceted generalist lists that bring a tool for every situation, we talk about how you can make your creation come to life.

Episode Music: Dankmus (https://soundcloud.com/dankmus/the-box-factory)

Icon Artist: Rylan Woodrow (https://www.facebook.com/ArtofRylanWoodrow/)

Sponsored by: Vreda Forge (https://www.facebook.com/vredaforge/)

                      Charity Hammer (https://www.charityhammer.com/)

Directed by: Sean Morgan

Recorded by: Shaylynn Allen

Edited by: The Lady of Titan

Ep03: Getting Good Mileage Out of Playtesting

Playtesting is key to doing well at tournaments, but how do you ensure you're getting the most out of the time you spend there? Our three hosts discuss how they approach the process of playtesting, "hard" vs. "soft" games, and ways to mix things up to make sure you're learning as much as you can from your test games. Thanks to Dankmus for our music, and to Rylan Woodrow for the art.

Episode Music: Dankmus (https://soundcloud.com/dankmus/the-box-factory)

Icon Artist: Rylan Woodrow (https://www.facebook.com/ArtofRylanWoodrow/)

Sponsored by: Vreda Forge (https://www.facebook.com/vredaforge/)

Directed by: Sean Morgan

Recorded by: Shaylynn Allen

Edited by: The Lady of Titan

Ep02: Analyzing a New Codex

Codices have been coming out at a pretty breakneck pace this edition, and they're not done yet- this episode, we talk about the process of examining a new book to try and understand how the three of us pick it apart and zero in on the strongest units, stratagems, and other options. Thanks to Dankmus for the music, and Rylan Woodrow for our art. If you enjoyed the episode, please rate/review us on your podcast service of choice and share the episode with your friends.

Episode Music: Dankmus (https://soundcloud.com/dankmus/the-box-factory)

Icon Artist: Rylan Woodrow (https://www.facebook.com/ArtofRylanWoodrow/)

Sponsored by: Vreda Forge (https://www.facebook.com/vredaforge/)

Directed by: Sean Morgan

Recorded by: Shaylynn Allen

Edited by: The Lady of Titan

Ep01: Winning and Losing in the Deployment Phase

Have you ever lost a game before it started? You might have! In this episode, Sean, Shay, and Josh talk about how to deploy, how not to deploy, and how to take advantage of your opponent's deployment. If you enjoyed the podcast, please rate/review us or share us with your friends.

Episode Music: Dankmus (https://soundcloud.com/dankmus/the-box-factory)
Icon/Banner Artist: Rylan Woodrow (https://www.facebook.com/ArtofRylanWoodrow/)

Sponsored by: Vreda Forge (https://www.facebook.com/vredaforge/)

Directed by: Sean Morgan

Recorded by: Shaylynn Allen

Edited by: Joshua Death